Madison -- It's far from the biggest solar system installed in Wisconsin, but Union Cab's 5-kilowatt project is unique: It's the first made-in-Wisconsin solar project.

The employee-owned taxi company was awarded $10,000 from the city of Madison’s solar energy program toward the cost of installing the panels, which were connected to the grid two weeks ago.

The project was created to highlight for Wisconsin residents how many state companies are participating in the solar energy sector, said Bryant Moroder of Sustainable Resource Group and the MadiSun program.

Dubbed the “WisconSun Solar PV System, the Union Cab 5-megawatt system includes panels made by Helios USA in Milwaukee as well as inverters from Ingeteam in Milwaukee. Other state companies involved range from Cardinal Solar Technologies in Spring Green, Luvata of Appleton, Performance Welding of Little Chute, SolaDeck of Eau Claire. H&H Solar installed the panels last month.

“I heard someone today say, ‘I had no clue that we had this many of these companies in Wisconsin,' ” Moroder said.

Kate Schachter, a member of the green team and board treasurer at Union Cab, said the coop has been working on sustainability improvements since 2008, with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint. In the last three years, the Union has replaced all its gasoline-powered passenger car sedans with a fleet of 38 Toyota Priuses.

That’s saving Union $38,000 a month in gasoline, she said.

Getting involved in a locally produced solar project was exciting for Union.

“It’s all about jobs, right?” she said. “And it’s all about what we can do in our state, and whatever job generation we can put together.”

The MadiSun program is a sister program to the city of Milwaukee’s Milwaukee Shines program. Both collaborated on the project.

Milwaukee Shines recently announced another buy-local concept, the Milwaukee Power Pack, through which the Midwest Renewable Energy Association is marketing panels made by Helios and inverters made by Ingeteam, both in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley.

The goal is to encourage homeowners and businesses to take advantage of falling prices for solar panels and encourage them to buy local at the same time, said Amy Heart, who runs Milwaukee Shines. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is also a partner in the initiative.

“What we do in Milwaukee is we make things, and we make things well,” Heart said.

The program is seeking to find ways to boost the state’s solar industry by launching a coalition – modeled on Wisconsin Wind Works for the wind industry – that is representing state solar suppliers at industry trade shows around the country, including one last week in Colorado, she said

About Thomas Content

Thomas Content covers energy, clean technology and sustainable business. A series he co-wrote on energy and climate change won top honors in 2008 from the National Press Foundation.

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